[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by 00hkelly

Hi,

I am seriously considering buying a Sony PRS 505 in the next few days and was looking for a bit of advice before I do (if I do).

1. Firstly, are there any rumours of a new device being released soon, (my biggest fear is paying for a new bit of tech only to find it being surpassed in a few months (I know about the PRS 700 though).

well... there will always be new devices coming out (sometimes, mere weeks or days after you finally make up your mind and buy one ! ) but, don't worry about that ; the devices currently available are great and i'm sure you'll be happy with your choice. you'll just have to live with the device envy most of us suffer from every time a new model is introduced. and eventually you can always upgrade later !

2. Similarly, is there any more information about the Kindle being released in the UK, as this could influence my decision to buy the sony?

probably not : the kindle is currently US only and this is probably for 2 main reasons : negotiations with the telecoms to implement a "whispernet" feature in europe is rather complicated, and also there is the question of acquiring international rights to sell titles. i imagine amazon would like to expand to other regions but we've got no indication this will happen soon.

I am going to be using the device to get back into reading (was a big reader as a child but stopped for some reason in the mid teens. One of the major factors that is stopping me reading big books again, is that I like to read whilst on my side in bed and the strain of holding a big book open with one hand and turning pages etc. makes it uncomfortable, hence my interest in a ebook reader.

i love to read in bed on my side too and i know just what you mean ! since i've got my reader i can't go back to reading paper books ; the ergonomics are terrible !

I am also going to be going to university in September, so am thinking of the advantages of not having to carry around the books that I will have to read as well (plus about £50 of book/waterstones vouchers I have).
I have been doing a lot of research and looking around on the internet and already have a few books on my computer as well as Calibre (mac).

glad you've discovered calibre already ! it's a fantastic tool. i find it indispensable. and being able to carry hundreds of books in such a lightweight device is pure heaven !! for students, but also for travelling and even just in daily life. it's one of my favorite things about ebooks.

I am really just interested to hear if anybody thinks a different reader would suit me better and if they know of a better price than the play.com offer of the reader and leather cover for £180.

personally, i have a sony 700 and i adore it, so i'm a bit biased no doubt. as a student, i would say it could be a really great choice for you, because of the search functions and highlighting / notetaking functions. i'm not a student but i use those all the time and i wouldn't want to be without them. also, the touch screen interface makes navigation really easy and comfortable ! i've gotten spoiled by it and it's another function i couldn't give up. the other feature which is really important to me is the epub support. epub is the new industry standard, and it's an open format. most european publishers are adopting epub for their ebooks, some exclusively. it's a very robust format which allows for much more complex formatting than any other, and since it's based on xhtml and css, and open, it's very future-proof which means it's highly unlikely that you'll lose access to your books some day if you switch devices. i recommend you definitely get a device supporting epub, whichever you choose, particularly since you're in the UK.

but i'm sure you'll end up loving whatever you buy. once you narrow it down, be sure to take a look in our ebooks section (ebooks link in the blue nav bar at the top of the page) for thousands of free ebooks formatted by our members ! feedbooks.com is another excellent source for free books.

Thanks for your help!

don't hesitate to ask questions ! you'll see we've got some very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful people around here ! enjoy !